St. Landry democrat., 1887-07-02
ON GIBRALTAR.
TIE PRESENT CONDITION OF TIE
FAMOUS ROCK FORTRESS.
It's Obsolete Armament and Deficient Sup
plies of Modern Munitions of War-An
English Writer Questions Whether 1t is
Impregnable at the Present Time.

an impregnable fortress. This is ques-
toned by writer in the London 81.
James' Ga=ette, who says:
During his first few hours in Gibraltar
an EngIshman is deeply impressed with
the strength and importance of this the
most ancient of our Mediterranean posses
sions. He walks past long lines OF bas-
tiOns built of massive masonry; he sees
guns in every directon-guns lining the
bastions, guns frowning upon the far
famed galleries, guns half concealed IN
the foliage of the Alameda Gardens. The
whole peninsula appears one vast and
impregnable fortress. On every avalla-
BILE spot is battery or barrack, mag
azine or store, hospital or prison.
There are guards and sentries, pickets
and patrols, firing of morning and even
ing guns, locking up of gates, and regu-
lations for the exclusion of aliens
unprovided with official passes-in a
wold, all the pomp and circumstance, If
not of glorious war, at any rate of vigl-
liant peace, fully prepared to draw the
sword at any moment. The stranger, OF
course, hurrias off at once to see the gal
leries and here the first impression is
most gratifying to his national pride.
He climbs the northwest and north face
of the rock by a series of cyclopean tun-
nels, pierced at intervals by cell-like en-
brasures, each of which contains gun
and pile of ammunition ready for use;
while branching off from the main gal
leries are other tunnels, which lead to
the powder magazines and stores hewn
out of the very bowels of the mountain.
1t is impossible not to be struck with
the enormous amount of labor which
has been expended in constructing these
vast works, especially those executed
during the great siege-1 719-S3)-the
third attempt which was made IN the
eighteenth century to wrest from our
hands the key of the Mediterranean.
The views from the embrasure are most
picturesque, and at every moment recall
some fresh incident of that magnificent
defense when the British garrison OF
5000 men successfully held their own
against $1,000 French and Spanish
troops, supported by fleet of forty
seven ships-of- the-line. A long steep
climb in mysterious semi-darkness brings
| YOU to great cavern full of guns, and
YOU look out to the northward over the
Spanish lines into Spain, with the glo-
rious panorama of the purple sharp
| peaked mountains of Ronda stretching
far away to the eastward toward Malaga.
| This battery is many hundred feet above
the sea-level; the cliff out of which it is
cut is almost perpendicular. Far be-
| low YOU is the north front, with
line battalion at drill, looking for all the
world like little red ants. All this is
classic ground; for it is the scene OF the
great sortie of November, 1871, when
1000 British troops sailed forth against
the besieging armies, attacked and de-
stroyed their batteries and spiked their
most destructive guns. In still higher
gallery is the embrasure through which
thanking fire is directed along the eastern
face of the rock, designed to prevent any
repetition of the daring enterprise OF
1904, when, during the first siege, which
followed close upon our capture OF the
fortress, the gallant Figueroa succeeded
with 500 Spaniards, in scaling this ire
mendous precipice.
AS long as the visitor remains in the
galleries he is in measure under the
spell of these stirring memories; ne
fondly persuades himself that in ou1
hands the rock is still an impregnable
fortress But, as soon as he returns te
the town and calmly thinks over all that
he has seen, it strikes him that he has
been under some Illusion. He remem
bers that there are very few fairly mod
ern decent sized guns mounted in the
galleries. There are some SO-pounde
guns, but the enormous majority of thu
cannon which guard the land approache
to the Rock of Gibraltar are (incredlbl
as it may seem) smooth-bore 3s-pounders
There is a battery Immediately in from
of the casemate barracks at Landpor
Gate, meant to sweep the neck o
land which connects Gibraltar Wit
Spain This battery is armed, no
with machine-guns, not with quick-tlrln
shell-guns, but with 80 and 64-pounde
smooth-bore muzzle-loading cannon
There is not machine-gun or a quick
firing shell-gun on the rock; and, to tel
the painful truth, the only really moder
serviceable cannon in the place are tw
1OO-ton guns and four 38-ton guns
These are fired once year in fear an
trembling lest evil should befall them
As in the galleries, so on the bastions
the majority of the guns are ~ and ia
Founders, with some few heavier pieces
none of which, however, would produc
much effect upon first-class ironclac
Thus to defend ourselves against BON
bardment by an enemy's fleet we ca
only rely on two guns of 100 tons an
four of 80 tons; surely a most dan
gerously insufficient armament in thes
days.
In another respect, again, Gibraltar
j. deficient as base of operations. NC
, only would it need much protection fro1
| the navy, and thus hamper the move
ments of our ships, but it possesses n
J dock where any serious injury to
;,o,,olsd could ha roy, ,ira6 Tn naacf